Investors engaged in some light profit taking Thursday, driving indexes slightly down, mostly on weakness by gold and materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite shed 28.32 points to close Thursday at 15,615.32, off its lows of the day.
The Canadian dollar eased 0.2 cents at 76.31 cents U.S.
Among gold plays, IAMGOLD declined in price 17 cents, or 2.9%, to $5.76, while Agnico Eagle Mines dropped $1.04, or 1.7%, to $58.87.
In the materials sector, Agrium toppled $3.25, or 2.3%, to $139.88, while First Quantum Minerals skidded 52 cents, or 3%, to $16.63.
Energy stocks were also lower, as AltaGas plummeted $2.14, or 6.4%, to $31.18, while Baytex Energy was bruised 18 cents, or 3.1%, to $5.63.
Telecoms strengthened, most notably Rogers Communications soared $3.46, or 6.6%, to $56.04, while rival Shaw hiked 26 cents to $28.25.
Among tech stocks, BlackBerry forged ahead a penny to $9.58.
In the financial sector, TD climbed 35 cents to $68.35, while CIBC triumphed 62 cents to $113.03.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $961.00 in November, up 0.8% from both the previous month and November 2015.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.79 points to 801.31
Seven of the 12 subgroups were lower, with gold sliding 2%, materials off 1.9%, and energy fading 0.8%
The five gainers were led by telecoms, growing 1.8%, information technology ahead 0.6%, and financials up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed mixed on Thursday after hitting new record highs, as investors took in several key earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials added 31.98 points onto Wednesday’s all-time high to 20,100.49, with Boeing leading advancers and Verizon the top decliner.
The S&P 500 stepped back 1.69 points from Wednesday`s all-time high, to 2,296.68, with health-care leading seven sectors lower and consumer discretionary outperforming
The NASDAQ composite index faded 1.16 points from Wednesday`s all-time high to 5,655.18
Among the firms reporting Thursday were Ford and Dow component Caterpillar. Ford matched earnings estimates, while topping sales expectations. Caterpillar beat earnings estimates but fell short of revenue expectations. Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, Paypal and Starbucks are among companies due to report after the bell.
In all, 30% of S&P 500 companies had reported quarterly earnings as of Thursday morning, with 70% exceeding analyst expectations on the bottom line and 56% besting sales estimates.
One of the principal catalysts in sending stocks to record levels were a series of executive orders signed by President Donald Trump, including two that facilitate the construction of the Keystone XL and North Dakota Access pipelines.
In economic news, initial jobless claims jumped 22,000 to 259,000, but have remained below 300,000 for 99 weeks straight, their longest stretch since 1970.
The U.S. IHS Markit services Purchasing Managers Index showed the sector expanded at its fastest pace since 2015, hitting 55.1 from 53.9. New home sales fell 10.4% in December.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recovered strength, lowering yields to 2.5% from Wednesday’s 2.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recouped $1.09 to $53.84 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slumped $8.50 to $1,189.30 U.S. an ounce.
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